My 2011 spring barrel weekend preview

Awwww, the joys of tasting wine out of wood barrels 😉 Spring Barrel is one of the bigger wine weekends on the calendar and what better way to spend this weekend than going back to where it all began: Yakima Valley, Prosser, & Red Mountain. This trip will take me to wineries old and new. This trip has me buzzing and here’s why:

Very little known fact: Windy Point Vineyards was the very first Washington Winery I’ve ever been to. Now, I’m returning to where my love for Washington Wine all began. Windy Point Vineyards will be kicking off Spring Barrel Weekend on April 15 – 17 from 10:00 am – 6:00 pm with barrel samples of their 2009 Pinot Noir & tasting new releases of their 2008 Nebbiolo and 2007 Pointless Red.

One of the things I remember vividly was the amazing views of the valley from their tasting room. Its things like this that captured my fascination with all things wine. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with old friends & tasting their new wines.

At the moment, I’ll be playing the rest of Yakima Valley by ear, but I’ll be sure to visit a few more wineries in that area before I arrive at my day 1 destination…

Day 1: The Tri-Cities Wine Region

After my brief stop in Yakima, I’ll venture to the Tri-Cities wine region. This is a region, I didn’t have much of a chance to tour, but I’m looking forward to my visit. One of my stops includes Thomas O’Neil Cellars, who will be making their grand opening for Spring Barrel Weekend. In celebrating their grand opening, Thomas O’Neil Cellars will be featuring live music from Robin Barrett, Michelle Morgan, and Mike Cook of the Coyote Kings on Friday from 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm & Marcus Eaton on Saturday from 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm. If you’re in the area, I really encourage you to visit.

Day 2: Prosser Wine Region

Day 2 is going to be jammed packed with great wineries. One of my favorites is Martinez & Martinez Winery. When I first decided to do a wine tasting series, I took a trip out to Yakima Valley & Prosser. Our last stop on day 2 (out of 3) was Martinez & Martinez Winery. They were in the process of closing up for the day due to a new addition being added to the family, but they still made time for us to taste two of their wines before leaving for the evening. The wines were great and I dropped off my card & invited them to pour at one of my wine tasting events. From there, we’ve grown to be great friends. The Martinez Family is one that will make you feel apart of the family every time you come to the tasting room or anytime you spend time with them. That, to me, is one of the best things about this experience.

During Spring Barrel, Martinez & Martinez Winery will be pour a number of their wines & will have some surprises for folks when they arrive in the tasting room. I really encourage you guys to make a stop there if you’re in town this weekend or anytime during the year.

Here are some other wineries I may visit in the area (time permitting):

Day 3: The Red Mountain Wine Region

This is, by far, the one wine region that eludes me every single trip. I don’t really know what it is, but I never seem to make it up to Red Mountain to taste. But I’m determined to make it this time around! This wine region is packed with great wines including another good friend of mine, Kiona Vineyards & Winery. I connected with JJ from Kiona for my very first wine tasting series event & he was nothing but helpful in making our event a success. Not only did he pour at our event, but he also helped us put on our very first, “An Evening with the Winemaker” series event. For all that they’ve done, I’m truly grateful and look forward to seeing my good friends on my visit.

For Spring Barrel, Kiona Vineyards & Winery will be tasting individual components of a Rhone-style blend out of barrels before letting you try the finished product. You’ll definitely want to check this out if you’ll be in the region.

If you’re in the area and would like to join me on my journey, feel free to send me a mention on Twitter & I’ll look out for you. If you can’t make it, you can always follow the action on my Twitter stream under hashtag: #SpringBarrel. That’s all for now. I look forward to telling you about my latest acquisitions and all the good times I’m bound to have.